339/Magda's Theory of Happiness

Magda's Theory of Happiness
Date of Scene:	31 August 2023
Location:	Mitakihara General Hospital
Synopsis:	Madoka asks Magda about her experiences as a Puella Magi as the two of them make the rounds in Mitakihara General Hospital.
Cast of Characters:	Magda Faust, Madoka Kaname

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Magda Faust has posed:
    Places that Madoka 'Magica' Kaname wants to be in right after getting out of a hospital bed: A hospital, obviously.

    And so it is: Hospital visit time.

    As is typical, Magda 'Gives People Unnecessary Nicknames' Faust is here in the hospital, helping people to recover faster. Like Madoka, she has become something of an unofficial aide. She can't do doctor stuff, obviously, but she may do simple tasks that don't require thirty pages of waivers and legal certificates.

    Like visiting patients for morale purposes!

    Or using magic on them!

    That's, like, totally probably legal maybe.

    You know what else is totally probably legal? Being mildly perturbed that no one told me your friend who was on suicide watch has been relocated to somewhere for therapy or something, so now you're just left there in an empty hospital room, looking like a doinkus. Very good job there, excellent decision, just the most top tier communication, even if Magda isn't family or anyone who has a right to know that kind of thing. Haha. Haaa...

    More than one nurse has wondered if she has some kind of connection to that Sayaka 'I Like Swords' Miki who keeps visiting Kamijou 'I Can't Remember His Full Name' Kamijou-kun. Like a school program or something. Well, whatever, the green-haired, multi-braided German schoolgirl who can speak fluent Japanese after being in the country for like a month (this is totally normal, RHA has great linguistics teachers probably), is examining a clipboard with the names and rooms of patients she still needs to visit.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    It's been a couple of days since Madoka got released from the hospital. She's the very picture of perfect health, for the most part, largely thanks to Coco's on-site protection and Magda's later healing magic. One would never even guess that she had come in so severely burned from the way she looks now. Sometimes her left arm aches, and she reaches over to touch it.

    Of course, this is Madoka, so just because she got released doesn't mean she's not here. Today she's going around with a cart full of various supplies, such as bandaids or cotton swabs or what-have-you, in order to restock individual rooms. She's wearing a volunteer's uniform, sized to her small frame, and an ID tag with her name hanging on a lanyard around her neck. Occasionally a nurse or doctor makes eye contact with her and they exchange waves and smiles. Sometimes someone rushes past her in too much of a hurry to say anything, and she quickly moves close to the wall to get out of their way.

    Having done this before, Madoka has a pretty clear idea of what she should or should not be messing with. A lot of things don't require any sort of license to use, just proper care and protocol to keep things clean. Other things, like medicines and patient details, she doesn't get anywhere near.

    She might overlook something when it comes to magical affairs however, and generally there's nothing wrong with an aide checking in on patients or delivering food. There are a lot of rules that are meant to be kept, but also those that are meant to be judiciously bent.

    As Madoka comes up to Magda reading over a list, and offers her a smile and a wave. "Faust-san! It's good to see you again. Are you looking for something?"

    It probably makes sense that they'd associate Magda about Sayaka, since they both know Madoka. Not that the pinkette would make that connection without further information.

Magda Faust has posed:
    "Eeh!?" Magda lets out as she jumps in surprise, almost managing a full turn before landing. Her green eyes are wide in surprise as her brain tries to process the situation she's in. Eventually, she closes said eyes, puts a hand over her heart, and breathes in and out deeply a few times to steady her nerves. "Kaname-san... Sorry, I was focused on what I was doing... Ah, I was just going to check up on Hara-san, but she was moved, I guess... I think she's seeing someone for therapy." Magda looks off to the side as she brushes her multi-braids out of the way. "Not that it will do any good. Those Witches need to be defeated or else it will start all over again..." Then realizing she's openly talking about magic, her eyes go wide again and she holds up her clipboard with both hands over the lower half of her face as though that will muffle the words she has already spoken.

    A glance out into the hall to check whether anyone heard, and then Magda is backing up and moving around the wall towards a corner. "Aah... What about you, Kaname-san? Is everything going well? Is anything else I can do?"

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka recoils slightly at Magda's reaction, taking a step back and lifting her free hand to cover her mouth. She winces, and feels kinda bad for startling the poor puella magi. "Eheh.. sorry."

    As the pinkette hears about Hara, she cants her head to the side and places a finger on the side of her chin, considering the situation. This might be troubling.

    Madoka shakes her head, letting her pigtails swish back and forth. "Nope! I'm alright. Just making the usual rounds. I come here to help out after school sometimes."

    She decides not to mention the aching in her arm. She's decided to hold onto that pain.

    "I'm not really sure where they do therapy. I'm sure Hara-san is still safe, though. Unless another Witch comes along to make her do something drastic, they probably still have an eye on her."

    Of course, that's assuming a lot, considering that Haruko got hit by three different Witches fairly recently.

    "Have you tried asking at the front desk? They can't always help, but they can sometimes. I know Sayaka-chan visits a friend here pretty often, so it's not strictly family-only."

Magda Faust has posed:
    "Iie! I wouldn't want to interrupt treatment. Also, like you said, the staff here are taking good care of her, I'm sure." Probably. "I actually wouldn't have guessed there's still a danger, since I've never seen a Witch's Kiss get removed, but... If Teresia-senpai says it, then it must be so!" She smiles brightly, and goes back to her clipboard. "I knew you were a good girl, Kaname-san. We both want to help people in any way we can. Though... Unlike you, I'm a bit clumsy, forgetful, and not very smart..." She sweatdrops a little as she squints her eyes at her own self-deprecating words. =_= "...But thanks to Kyubey, even someone like me can help out sometimes."

    She lifts the page on her clipboard to see who else there is to check up on, and... "...Oh. I guess I've already seen to everyone on my lists today or they've already been discharged... Hm. I see..." She lowers the clipboard and holds it to her chest as though she's hugging it. "Good. Not a one of my patients has had to stay beyond their expected recovery date, and most of them were discharged early. And, most importantly, none of them have died." She lets out a sigh of relief. "It will be a bit lonely here for a while... Oh! But at least I can speak with you, Kaname-san! We'll have more time to get to know each other as we go about our routines!" She seems excited about that.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka smiles brightly at Magda and nods. "Mmhm! Sure, I'd love to chat. It'd be good to get to know you better."

    She glances off to the side, "I um... may have told one of my friends on those two Witches. Homura Akemi is a Puella Magi, too. I think she got mad when she learned I got hurt. I told her that Teresia-san was hunting the same Witches. I'm sure that Homura-chan would want to work with her if they ran across each other." She lets go of her cart and wrings her hands for a moment. "I wouldn't entrust that to just anyone, but I have faith in Homura-chan... She's really strong."

    Madoka doesn't go into specifics, because that is a deep secret that she has been entrusted with, but she's pretty sure Homura wouldn't mind Madoka talking about how effective she is.

    "Also... I wouldn't say I was clumsy or forgetful, but... I wouldn't say I was that smart. I mean... I'm average, but I'm not like Mizuno-san. I actually don't have that much that stands out about me."

    In a brief moment of self-awareness, Madoka hears her own words and realizes that she and Magda have at least one thing in common.

    She places her hands back on the cart, and starts pushing it down the hall. "S-so... Teresia-san. You really look up to her, don't you? Have you known each other long?"

Magda Faust has posed:
    Magda nods along, bouncing her braids and then scurrying out of the hospital room in order to walk along with Madoka. She gives quiet apologies for holding the other girl up while walking along and listening. "Mmhmm! If Homura-san is that strong, she can probably handle it too. And if she teams up with Teresia-senpai then...!" She falters slightly at the question about how long she has known Teresia. But sorts out her twisted tongue after a few seconds. "Ah... About two years, I think... It was after I had become a Magical Girl. I was in a tough situation, and almost died, but Teresia-senpai suddenly showed up and saved me. From there, she started teaching us and leading us, and recruited more girls to our team."

    She has stars in her eyes while she talks about Teresia. "She was so cool! She just appeared suddenly, and sliced the Witch's stretchy arms off, and made sure I was okay. After that, it was pretty one-sided with Teresia-senpai and Lulu-chan. She was so pretty, and she had little sparkles like the night sky floating from her dress, and when she talked to me all I could was just babble and mumble because I was so surprised, and--" she realizes she's babbling right now and forcibly closes her mouth and starts clearing her throat, with her face all red. The throat clearing triggers a coughing fit and she turns to cough into her arm instead of spraying the hallway.

    "A-anyway, I think you're very smart. You figure out what to do without anyone telling you, and you learn things fast, and you can say smart things, and no one talks around you like you aren't even in the room, and, um, I just... I think you're neat." SHe trails off, looking at her clipboard to avoid having to make eye contact.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka moves at a pretty casual pace as she walks with Magda. She's usually has to do this part on her own, so it's nice to have someone to talk to for once. The mention of Magda almost dying makes Madoka frown slightly, thinking back to what nearly happened to Lulu the other day. She gets the impression that Puella Magi almost dying is pretty common, and sometimes it isn't 'almost'.

    Hearing the way Magda talks about Teresia brings Madoka's smile back. It's not every day you meet someone so heroic. Madoka counts herself lucky to know such people. Then when Magda starts complimenting her, she gets a little nervous. Internally she thinks, 'Me? But I'm not that special...'

    The note about no one talking around her like she's not in the room gets special notice. Does Magda feel that way?

    "Thank you," she responds meekly, having learned not to reject such praise. In a soft voice with a gentle smile, she adds, "I think it's really sweet of you to try and help people even though it costs you so much, and I think you're really cool for trying so hard even though most people wont recognize your efforts. You must really care a lot to be so dedicated."

    Looking ahead to carefully navigate around a trashcan in the hall, she reaches a door and takes a peek in to see if it's being occupied for the moment. Seeing it empty, she walks inside and starts checking the cabinets. While looking over things, she asks Magda, "So... can I ask you something? How do you feel about being a magical girl? About having made a contract with Kyubey, and your life right now? I know for some it's a real hardship. Even if you're really strong, I get the impression that it can be tough."

Magda Faust has posed:
    Magda is busy looking back and forth between Madoka and her clipboard while she walks, so does not successfully navigate the trashcan hazard, instead walking into it and having to scramble to stay on her feet. She awkward-walks around it afterwards with her ears burning red. "Oh, um. It... Doesn't cost that much really... What kind of price can you put on helping people, you know?" Forget that the entire medical industry runs on money.

    Once she enters the room with Madoka, Magda puts down her clipboard on the nearest available surface and starts hurrying to help out. The question about what she thinks about being a Magical Girl, however, has her stop what she's doing. "How... Do I feel about it?" she repeats. Then she turns to face Madoka. Her green eyes are shining bright with tears.

    "I... I feel so blessed!" she answers, smiling while little streaks of moisture leak out onto her cheeks. "Someone like me, who was going to die anyway without ever doing anything useful... Not only did I get to live much longer, walk around and live a relatively normal life, and meet all kinds of great people, and make friends, and fall in l--I mean, um, enjoy so much excitement and.... And..." Magda clasps her hands together and bows her head slightly as she tries to regain her composure and wipes her face with her sleeves. "Someone as useless as me... Even I can do things I'd never be able to do otherwise. I've been able to ease others' suffering, to improve their quality of life, to save lives that otherwise would have ended... I get to do all of these things, that I could never have done otherwise, and all I have to do is fight Witches sometimes?" She shrugs and smiles broadly. "What else can you call that but a miracle?"

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka starts to 'oh no' at Madga running into the trash can, but since the multi-braided girl seems to be avoiding the subject, the pigtailed girl pretends that she didn't see. At least for the moment.

    Her pink gaze turns to look into Madga's green as the medical Puella recounts her experience. So, for Magda, it's a wonderful experience? If the alternative was certain death, then trading that away for a realistic chance at life is probably a net gain in anyone's book. The rest of what she says strikes Madoka as earnest and sweet.

    "I don't think anyone could describe you as useless, Faust-san. I know I'd be in much worse shape if not for you. Some of the wounds I had... I would have been hurt for a really long time. Wounds like that might never heal. My life is a lot better off, thanks to you." Madoka's words continue to be soft as she tries to reassure Magda of her value.

    Then she turns towards the cabinet and frowns slightly again. There are a lot of things bothering her about this topic, which is why she keeps picking at it. Kyubey might have withheld some important details, but in at least this situation it seems like Magda benefitted.

    "Have you ever met anyone who regretted their Wish? I mean..." Madoka thinks back to what Haruko said, and winces, "... well there was the girl that wished for Haru-san to love her, but... have you met others like that?" She takes a moment away from restocking to look at Magda directly. "I know a couple people who've said they didn't regret their wish at all, but... To only have one chance to ask for something... that seems like it can be really tragic if you don't know what you want."

Magda Faust has posed:
    The green-haired girl (greenette? gronde?--no, definitely not the second one) gets herself under control, and seems hesitant to accept the compliments and praise and acknowledgment of efforts. "Oh... I'm not that special, really... I can only do this because of Kyubey and everyone..." she mutters. More similarity. "But... I'm glad I was able to help you too." she says as she looks up shyly and gives a small smile. c:

    As for asking if someone has ever regretted their Wish... "Hmm... I know someone. One of my friends from Germany. She's still sorting out normal life things so she hasn't made an appearance yet, but... She was going blind and her mother was sick. She didn't think it was possible to actually cure her mother or fix her own eyes, so she just... Wished to be able to see her mother again one last time. She was magically given the ability to see even without working eyes."

    Magda leans away as though expecting some sort of explosion, though not leaning away from Madoka, strangely. "When she found out she could have asked for her mother to be healed, she... Was in a very bad place. We all went to help and support her. It took months to help her get through it, and the loss of her mother... But she didn't give in to despair, and once she realized she could still help people... She joined our team. She specializes in search and rescue. Normal people who enter a labyrinth or are marked by a Witch, or just people who are in toruble... She can find them even if there's walls and buildings and stuff in the way, because, um, she can see through all of that. It also helps find Witches inside their own barriers..."

    She's going off on a ramble, and closes her mouth. Straightening up her posture, and taking a breath, she finally concludes with, "It's possible to regret any decision in life, is how I see it. The choices we make don't always turn out how we want. Sometimes they can leave regrets, or have really tragic consequences... And the choices you make when a miracle is possible are going to have even bigger consequences down the line. Like... Like Teresia-senpai says, about ripples. You know?" She has forgotten the details of the lecture. "If someone can't think of anything they'd risk their life for, then... I guess I'd tell them, 'Then don't risk your life.' It's not a casual thing to ask for a miracle. I just don't think everyone understands that when Kyubey says, 'You will have to fight for your Wish.' that he means what he says. He can't lie. I don't think the other Kyubeys are capable of it, you know, like... Like the space elves from Space Trek...?" She squints hr eyes, adopts a serious expression, and struggles to make a strange symbol with her hands. "L-live long and prosper! ...Da ne?" Or is she the only one who ever watched that, oh god did she just mark herself as an old-show otaku, oh no oh no.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka sees a bit of herself in Magda, and wonders if she'll ever know what confidence is, even after becoming a magical girl. The details of the insecurities are different, but there's the same denial and the same humility.

    She pauses as she listens to and considers Magda's response. This is important, so it has her full attention. So... this friend of Magda didn't wish for something because she didn't think it was possible? That... sounds pretty rough. The note about the powerset is cool, and sounds really helpful for a group of Witch hunters, but that's not what her mind focuses on.

    The reference goes over Madoka's head, and it's pretty clear on her face that she's never watched Star Trek. "Well that... sounds like a good motto!" She says this with a bright smile. Thinking ill of Magda in any way is the furthest thing from Madoka's mind, even if she doesn't share her hobbies.

    "I agree on one point. It really isn't a small thing." Madoka taps her chin with one finger. "To face Witches like that, to do battle for them and risk your life... it's not something I think I could do without..." What was the word that Homura used? "... conviction."

    So instead, naturally, Madoka faces such things without any magical powers at all. Thoughts like that reinforce her insecurities, no matter how many kind things are said about her.

    "I don't think I've mentioned this to too many other people before, but when I was in that Labyrinth, I almost made a wish. If I did, it would've probably been to simply survive. In the end I didn't need to, but... it's funny to think how different my life would be right now if I did."

    She looks inside the cabinets again one more time, and starts to push her cart out of the room. "I don't think I've ever seen Kyubey lie outright, but he doesn't seem to give out every detail. Maybe it's just a miscommunication. It's hard to really grasp what he means by a destiny of combat."

Magda Faust has posed:
    Once they're done in the room, mostly without Magda doing anything meaningful or helpful other than talk, she moves to follow only to skid-slide, turn around, grab her clipboard, and then hurry again to catch up. "Oh? Hm... Heheheh..." It's unclear what she finds so amusing... Until... "That... Makes me a bit happy. If you had made that Wish, you'd have made the same Wish I did." She hehehehs happily a little bit more before regaining her composure. But she still has a smile. "I wonder if that would mean we'd be able to heal people together? You'd probably look cute in a nurse outfit too...!" She then hurries into a flustered, rapid explanation that she didn't mean that Madoka wasn't cute in normal clothes, and actually it's the opposite, and she's sure Madoka has lots of admirers, and whether or not someone has magic has nothing to do with cuteness anyway, after all Magda describes herself as very plain and boring-looking even though she has magic, and--

    Ahem ahem. "Um... Anyway... Maybe you're right. I have some questions for Kyubey about some things, but... I don't want to offend him. I'm probably just misunderstanding things like usual, da ne?" Her giggle is much more strained and forced before she just trails off into silence.

    One of the rooms she's about to pass by is occupied, and Magda stops. "Ah...! This is my last patient to visit today. Um, thank you very much for talking with me. I'm... Not used to people asking my opinion on things. I'm just glad to be of help. I could never be like you." Magda pauses in the doorway, unable to look Madoka in the face. "You... Kaname-san can save people without any magic at all. And... I think people like you are really cool." With that, cheeks red, she bows and wishes Madoka a good day, before hurrying to the bedside of one of her patients.

Madoka Kaname has posed:
    Madoka smiles, and almost giggles at the fact that she might have shared a wish with Magda. That is, until she really starts to feel the depth of what that means. Then the topic starts moving a bit more rapidly than Madoka can keep up with, and by the end of Magda's nervous ranting she's feeling a bit overwhelmed. "I mean... Thank you! Um... I didn't take it in a bad way... er..."

    The idea that Madoka has a lot of admirers stuns her for a moment, long enough for Magda to regain her composure, such as it is.

    When Magda says that she's at her last stop, Madoka smiles and responds, "I'm glad we were able to talk, but... I think you deserve a bit more credit than you give yourself." No one said that Madoka wasn't a hypocrite. She starts to say more, but Magda is already gone, and Madoka is left behind to consider everything that was said.

    She starts pushing her cart around, resuming her rounds by herself. That's probably for the best, because she has a lot to think about, and introspection is often best done alone.

    So many magical girls, especially Puella Magi, have so much hope in their hearts. Maybe that's why they can face such tragedies and remain functioning. If Madoka had related even half of her experiences, she's pretty sure someone would suggest therapy.

    Eventually she finds the next empty room and turns inside, vanishing from view.